Small choices, big impacts……

Yesterday was an important day in history for me. If you have been following my blog, you may remember one of my first. “How Snoopy Changed My Life”. Well, on April 12, 2015, I sent my Anna the following picture and the rest as they say is history:

The choice I made to send this to Anna had an amazing ripple effect not only on our lives but, my son’s and a little family that we were able to help along the way. When Anna and I decided we were to be married, we started looking at a new homes, one that would be a fresh start on us both. The house she lived in was from her previous marriage as was mine. Anna had already decided to sell her house before we started dating and unfortunately, I was in no position to do so at the time. My divorce, along with a job loss in 2009 put my in financial straights and to save my home, I had to declare bankruptcy. It is something I am not proud of but at the time it was necessary. Anna sold her house almost immediately, then moved in with Ethan and I shortly there after. We determined that our best course of action for the immediate future was to just live in my house, save our money and get us a house after I get my bankruptcy closed. Together we made plenty of money, so saving and waiting was a no brainer, right? Anna, however, is a bit stubborn when she wants something. She contacted a patient of hers, who just so happened to be a mortgage lender, just to see what she would qualify by herself on a loan. Well low and behold she not only qualified, but was approved for plenty and so the hunt was on. We found our dream home which put us in a different school district, which put my son in a different school, which allowed him to play football again (His other school said he wasn’t good enough to play), which led to this. The kid that wasn’t “good enough” became all district and the face of the school’s football team.

Now, what to do with my house? I was in no position to sell, the house was not in the greatest shape, it need some work done to it if I were going to rent it. It was fine for us but, to rent it out for what I needed, it would have to be renovated a bit. We could leave it empty and still make the notes but, insurance required the house to be occupied. As we were pondering just what to do, God had already planned what our next move would be. There is a young lady who is employed at my workplace. She was going through a rough time, her husband was going through an addiction problem which had effected her and her children’s lives. They were living in a little house that wasn’t much of anything and paying entirely too much for it. She was barely making ends meet, not good with money and going through a treacherous time in her life. Knowing what she as going through, it dawned on me that my that my house would be perfect for her. It was in much better shape that what she was currently living in, it would give her stability and a fresh start. I felt God was talking to me and it was my duty to help her. I talked it over with Anna, we both agreed we should help her and by doing so, would help ourselves at the same time. I went to the young lady, made her an offer, you can rent my home for this amount and I will pay all your utilities. I will help you develop a budget and this will help you get on your feet. It will allow you and your children to have a nice home, neighborhood to live in, within a mile of all the schools. You can make changes to the house if you like and if your projects become too much, let me know and we will help. Also, when you get to the position when you can, if you would like to buy the house from us, we will sell it to you for what we owe on that date, so it is like you are renting to own. Oh and we won’t take no for an answer. After a few tears were shed, she agreed. moved into the house and has made it her home. Even better news is, her husband has gotten himself clean and is working on repairing their family.

Every choice we make in life could be the one that changes everything. Every choice we make has consequences, good or bad. The thing is, we never know which choice we make is going to be that one that has a ripple affect not only on you but the people around you. People with addictions made the choice to one day try this drug, or drink and those choices effect and ripple throughout their lives and well as their families. A snoopy picture, sent as a flirt on a whim one day not only changed my life, but many, many lives. I wondered today, what would have happened if I did not send that picture? Where would we all be had I had not made that choice? A friend of mine, Scott Goodrow said it best: “Remarkable how the smallest choices can have such a huge impact. We make choices every day in our life. We choose what time to leave our house, which route to take, what to eat, what to say, how to react, etc….. We make choices everyday and even the smallest of those choices could change everything. If you are going to make choices, shouldn’t you make good ones? Who know is the choice you make today, will be your Snoopy story tomorrow????